Let’s begin with the share market – Indian benchmark indices ended on a positive note in the volatile session. While BSE Sensex ended 95.71 points or 0.16% higher at 59,202.90, NSE Nifty shut shop at 17,564.00, up 51.70 points or 0.30%. Sectorally, Information Technology, Metal, PSU Bank, Power, and Oil & Gas edged up 1% each. In the broader markets, the BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended on a flat note. UPL, Adani Enterprises, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Adani Ports were among the top Nifty gainers, while IndusInd Bank, Asian Paints, Apollo Hospitals, UltraTech Cement and HDFC Bank were the top losers.
Moving on – Micro lender Capital Small Finance Bank on Thursday reported a 53.19 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit in the second quarter of the financial year 2022-23 to Rs 22.81 crore in comparison to Rs 14.89 crore during the same period last year. The gross advances for the bank also jumped by 23.22 per cent during the quarter to Rs 5192.73 crore from the year-ago period. The growth is owing to the increase in mortgage, MSME, retail trader and agriculture loans, the bank said in its quarterly results. Moreover, its net worth increased to Rs 556.51 crore for the September quarter from Rs 477.16 crore in Q2 FY22 while total income from operations jumped by 14.05 per cent to Rs 179.9 crore from Rs 157.74 during the said period. In terms of deposits, the bank said its total deposits increased to Rs 6184.6 crore for the quarter ended September.
In another development – With over Rs 7,200 crore in subsidy disbursals, the largest pure-play mortgage lender HDFC has cornered over 15 per cent of the credit-linked subsidy scheme for affordable housing since its launch in June 2016. The 45-year-old Corporation, which is awaiting a reverse merger with its subsidiary HDFC Bank, has also won the best housing finance company award from the government for this for the third time this year. Its Managing director Renu Sud Karnad said they have over 3.13 lakh credit linked subsidy scheme customers, who have cumulatively borrowed more than Rs 67,000 crore from them since the launch of the plan under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.These customers have received more than Rs 7,200 crore in subsidies, which is a tad over 15 per cent of the total subsidy of Rs 48,250 crore given by the government.
In other news – Airtel’s non-standalone 5G Plus network will work on Xiaomi’s all premium 5G phones and Redmi phone. The smartphone company Xiaomi announced a strategic collaboration with Airtel to bring Airtel 5G Plus in the hands of all Xiaomi and Redmi smartphone users. As part of this collaboration, customers using Airtel 5G Plus will be able to enjoy Airtel’s 5G network on all Xiaomi and Redmi 5G models across categories. To set up the phone for 5G network, users have to go to network settings and change their preferred network to Airtel 5G. Xiaomi India has carried out 5G field tests across multiple cities at different frequency bands. Premium Xiaomi phones like Xiaomi 12 Pro, Mi 11 Ultra, Xiaomi 11T Pro, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G, Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge, Xiaomi 11i, Mi 11X Pro, Mi 11X, Mi 10T Pro, Mi 10T, and Mi 10 will allow users to enjoy Airtel 5G Plus network connectivity just by changing their preferred network.
Meanwhile – The rupee rebounded from its lifetime lows to close 25 paise higher at 82.75 against the US dollar on Thursday amid weakness in the greenback overseas. Fag-end buying in domestic equities also bolstered sentiment, forex traders said. They also said that rising crude oil prices in the international market, however, capped the rupee’s gain. The local currency recovered on suspected RBI intervention after hitting a record low of 83.29 during the session. At the interbank forex market, the local unit opened weak at 83.05 against the greenback but later lost ground to quote at 83.29. It also touched an intra-day high of 82.72. The rupee pared all its losses to end at 82.75 (provisional), registering a gain of 25 paise over its previous close. In the previous session, the rupee had settled at an all-time low of 83 against the dollar.
Lastly – Average rents across India have increased 5.2% on a sequential basis for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, while aggregate demand and cumulative availability of rental properties reduced 3.9% and nearly 10%, respectively, across 13 Indian cities. However, on a year-on-year basis, the aggregate demand —represented by searches — increased 29%, according to Magicbricks Rental Index for Q3, 2022. Demand registered a sequential growth in Greater Noida at 37%, Noida at 12.7% and Gurugram at 8.5%.
